History of Lusophone Americans in Newark, New Jersey
The city of Newark, New Jersey includes a large Portuguese-speaking population. Newark has been nicknamed "Little Portugal" due to its large number of Portuguese-speaking and Portuguese-descended people. Most Lusophone Americans in Newark live in the working-class neighborhood of Ironbound.[1] In addition to immigrants from Portugal, Newark also has a large population of immigrants from Brazil and Cape Verde and to a lesser extent Angola.
History
The first Portuguese immigrants to Newark came during the early 1900s and the greatest influx of Portuguese was during the 1950s. Today there is very little immigration from Portugal. Now, most Lusophone immigrants arrive from Brazil and Portuguese-speaking Africa, especially Cape Verde. Other places of origin include Mozambique and Galicia, a region of Spain where Galician/Gallego is the spoken language also know as old-Portuguese because it is the ancestor of modern Portuguese.[2]
Demographics
In 1995, there were 30,000 Portuguese-Americans living in Newark.[3]
2000 Census data showed that Newark had 15,801 residents of Portuguese ancestry (5.8% of the population), while an additional 5,805 (2.1% of the total) were of Brazilian ancestry.[4]
See also
References
- Shepard, Richard F. "EXPLORING THE CULTURAL PLEASURES OF NEWARK - April in Portugal is Waiting Just Across the Hudson", The New York Times, March 26, 1982. Accessed February 3, 2014.
- Ramos-Zayas, Ana Y. (2012). Street Therapists: Race, Affect, and Neoliberal Personhood in Latino Newark. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226703619. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
- "A Portuguese Village in Newark". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
- QT-P13 - Ancestry: 2000 from the Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF 3) - Sample Data for Newark city, New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed February 3, 2014.